Emmys sorely lacking in laughs and excitement

Bryan Cranston accepts the award for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for his role in Breaking Bad during the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. His co-stars Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul also won for their supporting roles and the show took home an Emmy for outstanding drama series. - (REUTERS)Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul pose at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. Both went home with hardware for Breaking Bad. - (John Shearer/Invision for the Television Academy/ The Associated Press)Seth Meyers hosts the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Monday. - (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/MCT)Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepts her Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Veep. - (Tribune Media MCT)Julia Louis-Dreyfus, right, is kissed by Bryan Cranston during the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles Monday. - (Tribune Media MCT)Jimmy Fallon interrupts Julia Louis-Dreyfus during a kiss from Bryan Cranston. - (Tribune Media MCT)Gail Mancuso is announced as winner of the Emmy for best director of a comedy series. - (Tribune Media MCT)Modern Family's Ty Burrell offers his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. - (Tribune Media MCT)Allison Janney accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her role in Mom at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live Monday. - (Chris Pizzello/Invision/ The Associated Press)The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series. - (Chris Pizzello/Invision/ The Associated Press)Louis C.K. accepts his Emmy for comedy series' writing for Louie. - (Tribune Media MCT)Phil Keoghan jumps for joy in the press room at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. - (Jordan Strauss/Invision/The Associated Press)Weird Al Yankovic performs with Emmy host Seth Meyers during the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. - (Tribune Media MCT)American Horror Story's Jessica Lange accepts her award for Best Actress, Miniseries or Movie during the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. - (Tribune Media MCT)Sarah Silverman poses in the press room with her Emmy for writing on HBO's Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles. - (Jordan Strauss/Invision/ The Associated Press)

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 25/8/2014 (836 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He promised a no-gimmicks opening, and Seth Meyers delivered just that -- a strictly old-school, straight-from-the-cue-cards, absolutely-no-singing-dancing-or-video-gags monologue that ground out a few laughs but brought nothing in the way of excitement to the top of Monday's broadcast of the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.

After a very brief clip-snippet countdown, Meyers -- host of NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers and former anchor of SNL's Weekend Update segment -- strode onstage in a traditional tuxedo and launched into an eight-minute opening monologue so conventional that it would have been more suited to 10:35 or 11:35 p.m. than in a prime-time show, awards-oriented or otherwise.

TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT

Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Meyers poked fun at the Emmys' non-Sunday-night scheduling -- a byproduct, mostly, of NBC's lucrative commitment to the Sunday Night Football franchise -- offering the historical note that the last time TV's awards were seen on a non-weekend night was 1976 -- "Of course, nobody remembers the 1976 Emmys -- because they were held on a Monday."

It's likely that no one will remember the 2014 Emmy Awards either, but not because of the show's football-fuelled scheduling quirk. These Emmys will be quickly forgotten because, well, they were pretty darned forgettable.

There were a few inspired spontaneous moments in the broadcast, which actually clocked in at just under three hours, but for the most part, the 66th Emmys -- which by night's end had become something of a farewell celebration for Breaking Bad -- seemed determined to follow the form chart, both in terms of the show's format and, with a few exceptions, the very familiar list of winners it produced.

Presenter Jimmy Kimmel shook things up a bit in the early going by seemingly veering off script to poke some movie-star-at-the-TV-awards fun at Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey (and, in his final parting shot, fellow big-screener Julia Roberts).

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston -- once co-stars on that Seinfeld thing (he guested as dentist Tim Whatley) -- did their best to inject some laughs, creating some off-the-cuff fun that started when they presented together and ended during her best actress/comedy acceptance speech.

Other presenter pairings, however, were less successful. The highest-profile of the night, True Detective co-stars (and best actor co-nominees) Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, served up imitations of each other and then descended into some behind-the-scenes showbiz riffing that left even them wondering aloud, "A bit too inside?" Yes, it was.

Meyers had a bit of success with a taped "For a Dollar" bit he did on the streets of New York City with fellow funnyman Billy Eichner, but fared less well with an audience Q&A bit that felt as lame as that Ellen/Oscars selfie moment. And the inclusion of "Weird Al" Yankovic in the show, as the performer of a TV theme-song parody medley, was simply puzzling.

Presenter and soon-to-be Late Night host Stephen Colbert's imaginary-friend gag fell so flat that it must have left some at his new network home, CBS, wondering if they've made the right post-Letterman choice.

Without question, the most anticipated part of Monday's Emmys was the "In Memoriam" segment, which included a tribute to Robin Williams delivered by longtime friend and frequent collaborator Billy Crystal. After Sarah Bareilles' haunting rendition of Smile provided the background for the obligatory slide show roll call of the departed, Crystal appeared onstage beneath a huge image of Williams.

He struck just the right balance by sharing a few deeply personal memories and anecdotes, but it was really the first sentence he spoke that summed up his friend's career best: "He made us laugh, hard."

There was an actual (well, sort of) local shout-out moment in Monday's show: After the FX series Fargo (which airs in Canada on FXX, which is still not available to Shaw and MTS customers in Winnipeg) won for best movie/miniseries, series creator/writer Noah Hawley called the show a great experience and followed with "Let's do it again." That prompted producer Kim Todd (of Winnipeg-based Original Pictures), who was part of the inevitable onstage cast/crew throng, to respond with an audible and enthusiastic "Yes, please!" (Season 2 of Fargo will be shot in and around Calgary this winter, with Todd once again acting as one of its producers).

It was a level of excitement that few viewers at home would have experienced while watching the rest of this year's Emmys show.

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